* The Week Ahead: The Ferris State women's basketball team will play two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games this week. FSU hosts league leader Wayne State on Thursday, Jan. 24, for a 8 p.m. (ET) league tilt inside Jim Wink Arena. On Saturday, Jan. 26, FSU visits Saginaw Valley State for a 7 p.m. (ET) conference contest in University Center, Mich.

* Home Ticket Info: Ferris State home basketball tickets can be purchased in advance thru the FSU Athletics Ticket Office by calling (231) 591-2888 or visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com for more information. They can also be bought online via StarTickets.com. Adult general admission tickets are $7 or the cost is $5 for FSU faculty/staff, seniors ages 65 and up or students age 3 thru 12th grade. FSU students are admitted free with a valid student ID card.

* Media Coverage: Both games will be broadcast by the Bulldog Sports Network. Thursday's game will be carried both by Sunny 97.3 FM and online while Saturday's road game will be an internet-only broadcast due to FSU hockey coverage. Rob Bentley and Sandy Gholston will call the action. A live audio broadcast is accessible online in addition to live internet statistics and a live pay-per-view video webcast. For a full listing of links, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

* Follow On Twitter/Facebook: In addition to internet coverage, Bulldog fans can also follow all games this season via Twitter and Facebook with updates. Please visit www.facebook.com/FerrisWBasketball or www.twitter.com/FerrisWBBALL to follow the periodic posts and tweet-by-tweet coverage with scoring updates.

* Last Weekend: Ferris State held onto a share of first place in the GLIAC North despite splitting two road contests last week. FSU fell 70-46 on the road in conference play at Northwood on Thursday (Jan. 17), but bounced back to beat Lake Superior State by a 74-71 score on Saturday (Jan. 19) in Sault Ste. Marie. Senior guard Kylie Muntz tallied a career-high 27 points in the win over LSSU. Redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis had 10 points in both outings while junior forward Ashley Rando netted 10 points versus NU and 12 at LSSU. Junior guard Sarah DeShone reached double-digits with 13 points at Northwood and sophomore forward Kara Hess netted 15 points in the win over the Lakers.

* First-Place Bulldogs: Ferris State is 9-3 in the GLIAC North and tied with Michigan Tech atop the division. Wayne State is third (8-3) with Grand Valley State at 8-4 heading into the weekend. The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 10 games overall and hold a current 5-1 mark at home this season.

* The Records:Ferris State (10-5, 9-3 GLIAC) finished the 2011-12 women's basketball season with a 23-7 overall record, which matched the school record set previously in 2006-07 for most wins in a campaign. Last year marked the 15th time in the last 16 seasons the Bulldogs have registered double-digit wins in a campaign. FSU also reached the semifinals at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament last year.

Wayne State (10-5, 8-3 GLIAC) has won three of its last four games overall this year and is coming off a 63-59 road win in league play at Northern Michigan last Saturday (Jan. 19).

Saginaw Valley State (6-9, 4-7 GLIAC) has lost its last three games overall to date this season heading into a Thursday night road contest at Grand Valley State. The Cardinals fell 73-67 at Michigan Tech last Saturday (Jan. 19).

* The Coaches:Ferris State – Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate (Aquinas), 1st season, 10-5 (.667) - (0-0 vs. WSU, 0-0 vs. SVSU). A veteran coach with 26 years of experience on the sidelines and regarded as one of the state's top prep coaches prior to her FSU arrival, Lamoreaux-Tate most recently spent the last seven years as the varsity girls basketball coach at Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School where she guided the Cougars to a 167-19 cumulative record.

Wayne State – Carrie Lohr, 2nd season at WSU. Lohr took over the WSU program last season after serving as the head coach at St. Clair Community College for nine years. She also spent two years as an assistant coach at Oakland University..

Saginaw Valley State – Jamie Pewinski, 2nd season at SVSU, 7th season overall. She took over as head coach at SVSU last season after serving five years in the same role at Lake Superior State. She previously was LSSU's assistant coach for seven seasons and played collegiately at both Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State.

* GLIAC North Run: The Bulldogs have 10 conference regular-season games remaining this campaign. Overall, the Bulldogs have currently won 26 of their last 30 conference regular-season games dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season. FSU posted a first-place 17-2 mark in league play a year ago en route to claiming the North Division crown and currently has a division-leading 9-3 mark to date this season.

* Career Day For Muntz: Bulldog senior guard Kylie Muntz averaged 17.5 points per contest along with 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game in the two road games last week. Muntz had a career-high 27 points and drilled all four of her three-point attempts to help fuel the comeback win at Lake Superior State. She added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game while making five-of-six (.833) free throws, including two with seven seconds left and the Bulldogs leading by only a single point. Muntz had eight points, three boards, three assists and two steals in Thursday's (Jan. 17) setback at Northwood. For the two games, she shot 60% (12-20) overall and 75% (6-8) from three.

* Looking At The Opponents: Wayne State has won three of its last four contests to date this year under second-year head coach Carrie Lohr and owns a 10-5 overall record along with a 8-3 mark in the GLIAC North. The Warriors are paced by senior forward Talisha Bridges (14.7 ppg.) ...... Meanwhile, SVSU has dropped three games in a row heading into Thursday's conference road contest at Grand Valley State. The Cardinals, under second-year head coach Jamie Pewinski, are presently 6-9 on the year and 4-7 in the GLIAC. Freshman forward Emily Wendling is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game to date.

* Coming Up Next: Ferris State hosts archrival Grand Valley State in the Bulldogs' lone outing next week on Saturday, Feb. 2, at FSU's Jim Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET) in Big Rapids.

* GLIAC Preseason Poll: Ferris State was picked to finish first in the 2012-13 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll announced by the league office. Ashland claimed top honors in the South Division as both teams were chosen to repeat as divisional champions.

* Second GLIAC Crown: FSU finished with a 17-2 mark in GLIAC play last campaign and won the league's North Division Championship for only the second time in school history in addition to earning conference tournament runner-up honors.

* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris' 2012-13 roster includes two seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Nine of the 14 players are primarily frontcourt players while the remaining five are guards. Ten of the 14 players on the Bulldogs' roster hail from Michigan with three from Indiana and one from Ohio.

* New Head Coach: FSU Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger officially announced the appointment of Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate as the Bulldogs' new head coach on June 14. She became only the sixth head coach in the 38-year history of Bulldog women's basketball and replaced former head coach Tracey Dorow, who accepted the head coaching position at NCAA Division I Valparaiso University in April. In her seven seasons at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, she recorded 23 wins or more six consecutive years, including back-to-back 27-1 marks in 2008-09 and 2009-10. Her 2009-10 team claimed the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class B State Championship.

* Looking Back To Last Year: Ferris State finished the 2011-12 season with a 23-7 overall record, which matched the school record set previously in 2006-07 for most wins in a campaign. The Bulldogs also advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinals and claimed the schools second-ever GLIAC North Division Championship.

* New Assistant Coach: FSU landed another highly-successful coach from the Grand Rapids area when Charlette Muller was appointed to the assistant coaching position. Muller most recently spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons as the varsity head coach at Grand Rapids Christian High School where she led the Eagles to back-to-back regional finals appearances and a 44-5 (.900) overall record. Muller won 90 percent of her games as a varsity head coach and was the 2010 Associated Press Class A State Coach of the Year.

* Season Of Firsts: The women's basketball team was one of three FSU teams to win league championships last winter along with men's basketball and the Bulldog Hockey team, which claimed the CCHA Regular-Season crown and reached the national championship game at the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four.

* $10,000 Shootout: This season, one lucky Bulldog fan will have a chance to win $10,000 at every conference home game as part of the Lake Osceola State Bank $10,000 Shootout. One contestant will be picked at random for a chance to make a layup, free throw, three-pointer and half-court shot in 25 seconds.

* Key Win Mark: Ferris State's 23 wins a year ago matched its 23-9 mark while advancing to the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07 for the most in school history. Additionally, the Bulldogs' 17 league regular-season victories were the program's most in school history and topped the 16 wins set in 1999-00.

* Statistical Notes: Sophomore Sarah DeShone is the GLIAC's second-leading scorer to date at 18.6 points per game. DeShone notched her 800th career point at Northwood ..... Ashley Rando ranks third in the GLIAC in steals to date (2.6 pg.). She notched her 150th career rebound against Michigan Tech (Jan. 10) ...... DeShone presently ranks 25th nationally in scoring heading into the week.

* Bulldog Notes: Ferris State made its fifth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago. The Bulldogs eached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen and the regional final in 2006-07 at Romeoville, Ill. ....... Sophomore Kara Hess (Grand Rapids/Grandville) has played in 12 games to date this year for the Bulldogs and reached double-figures four times. She was a member of the FSU volleyball team this fall and helped the Bulldogs to the NCAA-II Midwest Regional Semifinals before joining the basketball team for the first time.

* Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women's basketball program, which starts its 38th season of varsity competition, has compiled a 493-490 (.502) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their first previous GLIAC crown, advanced to their first NCAA-II Regional Tournament and recorded the nation's highest grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which claimed GLIAC Tourney runner-up honors for the third time last year, has posted 10 wins or more in 14 of the last 15 seasons.

* All-GLIAC Honorees: Ferris State was well-represented on the All-GLIAC teams announced last season in conjunction with the postseason banquet at the league's final four. Sarah DeShone was one of 10 first-team honorees while both forward/center Christina Branch and guard Tricia Principe were second-team picks. Branch also claimed GLIAC All-Defensive Team recognition.

* Series History vs. WSU: The Bulldogs maintain a 34-26 series' advantage entering Thursday's 61st meeting and topped WSU 81-63 in last year's lone matchup at Detroit (2/16/12). The Warriors had won the lone meeting in 2010-11 by a 83-74 score in Big Rapids (2/17/11). Ferris has won 14 of the last 17 series' encounters overall.

* Series History vs. SVSU: The Cardinals hold a 43-33 advantage entering Saturday's 77th encounter. FSU has won 21 of the last 27 meetings, including a 81-57 triumph in the most recent game last year (2/4/12) in Big Rapids, which followed a 66-48 victory in the first meeting a year ago (J1/7/12) in University Center. The Bulldogs had lost six consectuvie games on the road at Saginaw Valley State prior to last year's win at O'Neill Arena.